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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 22, 2023 19:19:55 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 4m Yu Chang's 3rd homer cuts the Milwaukee lead to 3-2.
#RedSox HR leaders:
Devers 7 Duvall 4 Chang, Hernández, Verdugo 3
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 22, 2023 19:28:45 GMT -5
Whitlock loads up the bases in the 5th No one is out.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 22, 2023 19:30:44 GMT -5
He gets the hook with Rowdy coming up Blier is on the bump Red Sox turn 2 run plates 5- 2 Brew Crew
5th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:30:44 GMT -5
Boston's third baseman hits 8th homer of 2023, Red Sox fall to Brewers
MILWAUKEE -- Rafael Devers was a few feet out of the batter’s box as he flipped his bat in the air, propelling it over his head and behind him, before leaving it in the dust to round the bases.
It was a befitting celebration for the Red Sox’s All-Star third baseman following his plate appearance in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Brewers. Devers cranked a two-run homer 416 feet to right field, bringing the Red Sox within a run of Milwaukee in an eventual 5-4 loss.
“That was a great at-bat,” manager Alex Cora said. “Was late on a 2-0 fastball and then he kept battling and battling and battling and put a good swing on it.”
Devers has gotten off to a fast start at the plate this season, and he put forth an early nominee Saturday night for his best plate appearance of the 2023 campaign.
Facing Brewers reliever Joel Payamps in the sixth, Devers laid off a changeup in the dirt and a four-seam fastball high and outside to get ahead in the count 2-0. Payamps then got him to swing and miss on a four-seamer on the outer half of the plate, thigh high, and Devers took another fastball on the inside corner to fall into a 2-2 count.
From there, his mentality was simple.
“Just narrow the strike zone to a pitch that I wanted to handle,” Devers said through interpreter Carlos Villoria. “Just have a good approach to that at-bat, try not to swing at bad pitches, try to swing hard in the zone.”
Devers took a changeup low to run the count full and fouled off a slider down and inside and a four-seamer off the plate to stay alive. He was looking for a fastball on the next pitch, and Payamps threw him one high and on the inner half of the plate.
Devers didn’t miss. He hit the chest-high pitch 110 mph into the second deck of right-field seating at American Family Field.
For those scoring at home, that’s Devers’ fourth-hardest hit ball this season.
“I look for fastballs,” Devers said. “It wasn’t a good pitch to hit, but I was looking for the fastball high in the zone and I was able to get it.
Devers finished the night 2-for-4, also hitting a double in the first inning. The Red Sox fell behind early -- Rowdy Tellez continued his torrid run against Boston pitching with a two-run homer -- and had a chance to tie things late with Devers at the plate. Brewers reliever Hoby Milner struck him out in the eighth, to strand the potential tying run at second base.
"No question, that was two huge outs, and to get two strikeouts there,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Rafael Devers is one of the best hitters in this league. Every time he comes through, you worry for sure. [Milner] made some great pitches and got it done."
Devers has been one of the best hitters in baseball in the early going, ranking near the top of the Majors in homers (eight) and RBIs (20), while hitting .264 with a .925 OPS. That start has him in some pretty good company in Red Sox history.
“Since the beginning of Spring Training, I've been feeling really good, just making an adjustment every time,” Devers said. “Every game I try to adjust to their game plan and see how they're pitching me. Just trying to adjust every time, to have good at-bats. I’ve been feeling really good this year.”
Boston's offense entered Saturday near the top of the American League in many offensive categories -- including tied for second in runs scored, tied for third in hits and second in extra-base hits.
Often, that means there’s going to be traffic on the bases for Devers. And with how he’s going, there’s a good chance he’s going to capitalize.
“He’s been good,” Cora said. “The guys in front of him are doing an outstanding job getting on base. When you’ve got traffic in front of you, it's hard to pitch around you. You don't want to run into situations -- bases loaded or first and second, less than two outs. He's been doing an outstanding job. Overall, offensively, keeping the line moving, taking walks and grinding at-bats, I think [has been] so far, so good.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:31:53 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: X-rays negative on McGuire's hand April 22nd, 2023 LATEST NEWS
April 22: C Reese McGuire undergoes X-rays on hand X-rays on McGuire's right hand came back negative after Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Brewers. Boston's catcher took a foul tip off the top of his right hand in the eighth inning but stayed in the game. McGuire entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh for backstop Connor Wong. The Red Sox did not have another catcher available.
"It's a little swollen right now, a little bruised," McGuire said. "But I just got some X-rays and all is negative, so that's really good news. I had a smile on my face because it was kind of throbbing. I'm gonna go ice right after this and be ready for tomorrow."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:33:39 GMT -5
Red Sox continue to be tortured by Rowdy Tellez, who homers in 5-4 Brewers win
Updated: Apr. 22, 2023, 10:47 p.m.|Published: Apr. 22, 2023, 9:35 p.m.
By
Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
MILWAUKEE -- It might be time for the Red Sox to trade for Rowdy Tellez just so he will stop hitting bombs off of their pitchers.
Tellez homered for the second straight game Saturday and the Red Sox fell to the Brewers, 5-4, on a night Garrett Whitlock wasn’t his sharpest. After perhaps his finest big league start last time out against the Angels, Whitlock was tagged for five runs and eight hits in 4+ innings as the Sox fell back to .500 at 11-11.
Whitlock first faced trouble in the second when William Contreras doubled and scored when Brian Anderson looped a bloop ground-rule double into right. Milwaukee took a 3-0 lead an inning later when Tellez, a certified Red Sox killer, launched a two-run shot with two outs. In 37 career games against Boston, the former Jay has 14 home runs.
Yu Chang’s power surge continued in the fifth, as he took former Red Sox lefty Wade Miley deep to cut the deficit to one. The homer was Chang’s third of the season, and, somewhat bizarrely, only his fourth hit. It didn’t take long for Milwaukee to add on some insurance, as Christian Yelich made it 4-2 with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth and scored on a double play to make it a three-run game.
The Sox weren’t done fighting then, though. After Justin Turner singled to lead off the sixth, Rafael Devers hit a 110 mph missile into the right field upper deck; his eighth homer of the game made it a one-run game again.
Boston threatened in the eighth when Turner hit a one-out double but lefty Hoby Milner battled back to strike out both Jarren Duran and Devers to escape the threat. In the ninth, Brewers closer Devin Williams worked around a Masataka Yoshida single to retire the side.
Turner (2-for-4, R) and Devers (2-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R) paced the Sox’ offense with two hits apiece. Milwaukee’s win was its first over the Red Sox at American Family Field since May 10, 2017. The Brewers (15-6) are the only team in baseball that has not lost consecutive games this season.
Devers joins elite group with hot start
According to the Red Sox, Devers became just the third member of the team since 2000 (and the ninth ever) to have 8+ HR and 20+ RBI in the first 22 games of the season. Hanley Ramirez was the last to do it in 2015; before him it was Carl Everett in 2000.
Bello looks to bounce back in finale
Talented young righty Brayan Bello (0-1, 16.88 ERA) will look to bounce back from a brutal season debut in Sunday’s series finale. Brewers ace Corbin Burnes (2-1, 4.76 ERA) will take the hill for Milwaukee in the rubber game with first pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET (1:10 p.m. CT).
The Sox will then travel to Baltimore for a three-game series against the Orioles.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:34:45 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 8h Disappointing performance by Whitlock. Only threw 17% sliders after dominating with it last start, and had trouble getting swings and misses with all his pitches. A lot of ground balls, but Tellez and Yellich crushed changups that hung up.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:35:39 GMT -5
J.P. Long @soxnotes · 8h Red Sox with 8+ HR and 20+ RBI in the team’s first 22 games:
Rafael Devers (2023) Hanley Ramirez (2015) Carl Everett (2000) Mo Vaughn (1995) George Scott (1966) Dick Gernert (1956) Ted Williams (1950) Vern Stephens (1949) Jimmie Foxx (1936)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:37:10 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h Reese McGuire had x-rays on his right hand after getting hit by a foul tip in the ninth. They were negative but he was hurting.
Asked who his emergency catcher was, Alex Cora said he didn't know.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:41:55 GMT -5
Garrett Whitlock didn’t help his bid to stay in starting rotation, getting roughed up in Red Sox’ loss to Brewers By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated April 22, 2023
.MILWAUKEE — The Red Sox went to a six-man rotation when Brayan Bello came off the injured list last week. They’re sticking with it for at least another series.
But with multiple days off coming up, one of the starters will get dropped into the bullpen soon.
It won’t be Chris Sale or Corey Kluber. But Bello, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock don’t have the same level of job security.
For them, every start is essentially an audition.
Whitlock hurt his cause on Saturday night, allowing five runs on eight hits over four innings in a 5-4 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers.
“I just never gave the team a chance to win,” Whitlock said. “The defense did its job. The offense did their job. The bullpen shut it down. That was on me.”
Through three starts, Whitlock is 1-2 with a 6.19 earned run average and has allowed nine extra-base hits in 16 innings. The 11-11 Sox believe the 26-year-old has a bright future in the rotation, but they’re also already 7½ games out of first place.“I just never gave the team a chance to win,” Whitlock said. “The defense did its job. The offense did their job. The bullpen shut it down. That was on me.”
Through three starts, Whitlock is 1-2 with a 6.19 earned run average and has allowed nine extra-base hits in 16 innings. The 11-11 Sox believe the 26-year-old has a bright future in the rotation, but they’re also already 7½ games out of first place.
After splitting the first two games of the series, Bello starts the finale on Sunday afternoon against Corbin Burnes.
The Brewers, who lead the National League Central, are 15-6 and have won five of their last six.
Wade Miley (3-1) went five innings for the win, allowing two runs. Devin Williams, the fourth Milwaukee reliever, got the final three outs for his third save.
The All-Star closer has not allowed a run over seven innings while striking out 12.
Whitlock’s trouble started in the second inning when William Contreras and Brian Anderson led off with back-to-back doubles to right field to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
Anderson advanced to third on a ground out. With the infield in, Joey Wiemer grounded to shortstop and Yu Chang made a strong throw to the plate to get Anderson.
Christian Yelich singled to start the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Whitlock got ahead of Rowdy Tellez, 1-2, but could not put him away.
Tellez fouled off two fastballs and worked the count full. Whitlock then left a changeup high in the strike zone and Tellez hammered it to center field for his seventh home run. The 412-foot shot landed in a standing-room area overlooking the field.
It was the 14th home run Tellez has hit in 37 career games against the Red Sox.
“It was a strikeout or walk in that situation and he left it up,” Cora said.
Whitlock’s not alone there. At this point Tellez could roll out of bed on Christmas morning and go 2 for 3 with a homer against the Sox.
With a 3-0 lead into the fifth inning and a runner on first with two outs, Miley left a cutter over the plate and Chang hammered it into the first row of the second deck in left field.
It was Chang’s fourth hit of the season and third homer.
The Brewers came right back on Whitlock. Rookie Blake Perkins singled for his first career hit and scored on a double to center by Yelich.
Whitlock hit Jesse Winker before Willy Adames singled to load the bases. With Tellez back up, Cora went to lefty Richard Bleier. A run scored when Tellez grounded into a double play but that was a far better outcome than his usual extra-base hit against the Sox.
Bleier then retired Contreras on a groundout to cool what could have been a big inning for the Brewers.
Whitlock generated 14 swing-and-misses in seven strong innings against the Angels last Sunday. He had only eight against Milwaukee.
“They put the ball in play,” Cora said.
The Sox came back again. Facing Joel Payamps, Justin Turner singled and jogged around when Rafael Devers unloaded on a fastball for a home run into the second deck in right field.
It was the eighth of the season for Devers, who already has 20 RBIs. Five of his home runs have come on the road.
Catcher Reese McGuire, who replaced Connor Wong in the seventh inning, took a foul ball off his right hand in the ninth inning but stayed in the game. X-rays were negative.
McGuire initially had trouble throwing the ball back to pitcher Kutter Crawford.
“As a catcher you’re used to getting baseballs all over,” McGuire said. “It’s just one of those things you just shake off at first but that one kind of stung.
“Then when I looked down it was starting to swell up a little bit. Yeah, just life of a catcher right there.”
Do the Sox have an emergency catcher?
“I don’t know,” Cora said. “I have no idea.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:50:10 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK He can’t explain it, but Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez has Red Sox’ number By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated April 22, 2023, 7:14 p.m.
MILWAUKEE — For a burly guy who was drafted in the 30th round out of high school 10 years ago, Rowdy Tellez has put together a solid major league career.
He’s played parts of six seasons in the majors, appeared in five playoff games, and earned $7.4 million. Not bad.
But put him at the plate against the Red Sox and Tellez hits for average like Lou Gehrig, gets on base at the same clip as Jimmie Foxx, and slugs like Babe Ruth.
Tellez was at it again on Saturday. His two-run homer helped lift the Brewers to a 5-4 victory against the Sox. He’s homered twice in the series, driving in four runs.
Tellez is 37 of 110 (.336) with 14 home runs and 29 RBIs in 37 career games against the Sox.
His most career runs, hits, homers, and RBIs have come against the Sox.
“It just so happens it’s that team,” Tellez said before the game. “They’re just that team I always hit against. I wish I knew why.
“[Alex] Cora always makes jokes from the dugout about it. But nothing changes. For some reason I see the ball great against them. I love hitting at Fenway, too.”
Tellez is a career .237 hitter with a .774 OPS. Take away his production against the Sox and he has hit .228 with a .740 OPS.
“We’re aware of the numbers,” Sox pitching coach Dave Bush said. “If I had the answer about how to pitch him, we’d be doing it. Some guys just hit well against certain teams.
“There’s no magic answer. We’re always looking for ways to get hitters out and we haven’t found it with him.”
Tellez has homered off Red Sox starters [Nate Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Eduardo Rodriguez] relievers [Heath Hembree, Josh Taylor], and a second baseman [Christian Arroyo].
He’s even 2 for 3 with a double off Chris Sale, a pitcher who usually overwhelms lefthanded hitters.
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Tellez said. “It’s just one of those things.”
One Sox pitcher who handled Tellez well was Matt Barnes. Tellez was 0 for 5 with four swinging strikeouts against Barnes, although he did draw three walks.
Barnes, alas, is now a Miami Marlin.
Bello tries again
Brayan Bello had the worst game of his short major league career on Monday, giving up five runs on eight hits over 2⅔ innings against the Angels at Fenway Park.
The Angels led, 4-0, seven batters into the game.
Bello tries again Sunday afternoon, this time against the Brewers and their ace, Corbin Burnes.
“It was (Bello’s) first start. He’ll be OK,” Cora said. “He had nine swings and misses in three innings. I know it looks horrible. But when you look at the video it wasn’t that bad.”
Bello had a sore arm early in spring training and opened the season on the injured list. His rehabilitation assignment included only one minor league game. The others were instrasquad games at extended spring training.
“It’s not the same intensity but that’s not an excuse,” Bello said via a translator. “I needed to have better command of my pitches.
“I was frustrated [against the Angels] and I need to put that behind me. I’m going to be a lot better.”
Burnes is 25-14 with a 2.83 ERA the last three seasons. The 28-year-old righthander was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner in 2021 and finished seventh in the voting last season.
Sunday would be his first start against the Red Sox, although Raimel Tapia (4 for 10), Justin Turner (2 for 7 with a homer), Kiké Hernández (0 for 2), and Alex Verdugo (1 for 3) have faced him before. High-scoring squad
Through Friday, the Rays led the majors with 141 runs. The Sox and Rangers were tied for second with 116 … Pinch hitters were 9 for 21 with three extra-base hits for the Sox in the first 21 games. Tapia was 3 for 6 in that role … Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is with the team for the road trip … The Athletics signed righthander Durbin Feltman, who was released by the Red Sox on April 11. A third-round pick in the 2018 draft, Feltman, 26, had a 5.97 ERA and over 59 career Triple A games with the Sox.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 4:55:05 GMT -5
Red Sox @ Brewers Sunday, April 23rd 2pm @ American Family Field
Bello 0-1/ 16.88
Burnes 2-1/ 4.76
Game one of this series was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Boston Red Sox (11-10) leave with a 5-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers (14-6). Game two is Saturday night in Milwaukee, building up to this Sunday matinee. Will Boston strike first again, or will the Brewers continue to saw through everyone in front of them? At 2:10 p.m. EDT in American Family Field, we'll all find out.
Boston Bats are Back Despite a losing season, the 2022 Red Sox were one of baseball's top-10 offenses. 2023 has been much of the same, as Friday's win pushed them to second in runs scored among MLB's 30 teams. They are putting up 5.5 runs per game, led by Alex Verdugo's .931 OPS (24th among qualified batters) and Rafael Devers' .578 slugging percentage (15th). Their hitting numbers as a team are all much better at home, but they're still putting up over five runs a game on the road. Home runs weren't one of their strengths in 2022, but they have the eight-most homers in baseball right now.
What limited their success in 2022 was pitching, and that hasn't changed much either. So far this year, it hasn't been the bullpen's fault. After finishing bottom-five in WAR and ERA last year, the Red Sox's relievers are 13th or better in both stats plus FIP in 2023. Their BB/9 is sixth, and HR/9 is fifth among all MLB bullpens. Adding Kenly Jansen was a massive stabilizer to the back end.
Starting pitching has been a disaster, and Brayan Bello's only 2023 start didn't help. When he starts in this one, it'll be hard to fare worse than allowing five runs in 2.2 innings as he did last Monday. Last year was Bello's rookie season, and he finished with a 1.779 WHIP and 4.71 ERA. He only allowed one home run in 2022 though, finishing with a 0.2 HR/9 and 2.94 FIP as a result. Bello has already allowed a long ball in 2023. He pitched in Milwaukee last July, earning the loss despite holding the Brewers to two runs in 4.1 innings.
Pristine Pitching in Milwaukee Only one team owns a lower ERA than the Milwaukee Brewers so far. Trotting out relievers that have a combined 2.18 ERA, the best in MLB, certainly helps. There isn't a bullpen in the league better at leaving runners on base than Milwaukee's, and very few are better at keeping the ball in the ballpark. Devin Williams is the premier piece of the bullpen, and he hasn't allowed a single run yet.
It also helps to have a starting pitcher like Corbin Burnes, who will take the ball to wrap up this series. Burnes was an All-Star the past two seasons and won the NL Cy Young award in 2021. He finished both years with a sub-3.00 ERA. In his first 9.1 innings this season, Burnes gave up 10 runs on 11 hits. Over his last 13.1 innings, he's only allowed two runs on six hits. Milwaukee has won his last three starts after losing the first of 2023.
Milwaukee's offense has put up 98 runs through their first 20 games, just shy of a five-run average. They're collectively eighth in batting average and on-base percentage. Along with that, they've clubbed the 10th-most homers and swiped the 10th-most bases. Rowdy Tellez is leading the way with six home runs in 62 at-bats.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 8:25:09 GMT -5
Latest On The Red Sox Rotation
By Nick Deeds | April 23, 2023 at 8:10am CDT
Rotation plans for the Red Sox in the near term have come into focus recently, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive’s Chris Cotillo) that right-hander Tanner Houck is likely to start the club’s game against the Orioles on Wednesday, though that could change if he’s needed out of the bullpen before then.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as reports ahead of the activation of righty Brayan Bello from the 15-day IL last week indicated that the club could go with a six-man rotation at least through the off-day on this coming Thursday before transitioning to a five-man rotation that would likely leave Houck as the odd man out. Still, Cotillo goes on to note that the club does have other options: righty Nick Pivetta could be moved to the bullpen instead, or Bello, who was shelled for five runs in 2 2/3 innings of work in his first start coming off the IL, could be demoted to Triple-A.
Of the six members of the Red Sox rotation, Houck has actually been the best starter this season in terms of performance. In 21 innings of work, Houck has posted a solid 4.29 ERA, 11% better than league average by measure of ERA+, and a nearly matching 4.26 FIP. His strikeout (25.5%) and walk (9.3%) rates are largely in line with his career norms, as is his BABIP (.283). The most significant change from previous seasons for Houck in the early going this year is his groundball rate. Houck entered the season with a career groundball rate of 49.3%, but in his four starts this season, that figure has jumped all the way up to 58.9%, good for sixth in the majors among players with at least 20 IP.
While Houck’s start this season is encouraging, Cotillo notes that his success in a multi-inning relief role last year, when he posted a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, makes him a natural choice for the move. Meanwhile, Smith notes that Pivetta has resisted suggestions he could be ticketed for the bullpen after some early season struggles. Pivetta has yet to finish the sixth inning this season in a start and has posted a 4.58 ERA over 19 2/3 innings this season in spite of a deflated .275 BABIP that helps to explain his more worrisome 5.19 FIP.
Even in the event that Houck is ultimately sent to the bullpen, Boston brass will have to make another tough decision when lefty James Paxton returns from the IL, which he could do fairly soon. Paxton, Cotillo notes, has never appeared out of the bullpen in his career and struggled badly out of the bullpen in a rehab stint this season, allowing seven runs in less than an inning of work. With Paxton an unlikely bullpen candidate, the Red Sox are likely to once again be left to decide between a six-man rotation and bumping either Pivetta or Bello from the group when the veteran lefty is ready to be activated.
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Post by Kimmi on Apr 23, 2023 8:37:20 GMT -5
He gets the hook with Rowdy coming up Blier is on the bump Red Sox turn 2 run plates 5- 2 Brew Crew
5th Rowdy is a Red Sox killer. It's uncanny how a player can have such good numbers against a particular team.
It's not the outcome we wanted, but it was a good game. That said, I'm not a fan of our heavy right-handed line up when we face a lefty starter.
Let's take the series today.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 23, 2023 9:16:34 GMT -5
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 9m Whitlock struggles in his 1st start. “See, he’s a Reliever”. He dominates in his next start, “I told you he’s a Starter”. Struggles in his 3rd start “Put him in pen”. If they want him to be a Starter than they have to ride it out. They’ll have their answer by yrs end.
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